


ruins in sunlight

by orphan_account



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-28
Updated: 2011-05-28
Packaged: 2017-10-26 10:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/282102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>there is a moment in which Heero starts wanting to make people smile</p>
            </blockquote>





	ruins in sunlight

For a good year after the war, Heero shadowed Relena as she traveled the Unified Nations, advocating peace. The situation was too unstable, he felt, and the politicians might not see it, in their unrelenting optimism that everything would go ahead as planned, but Heero knew what the human mind was capable of. A terrorist plot to assassinate the face of the new peace movement was not the most far-fetched possibility. He needed Relena to be safe.  
   
But then, as the situation stabilized, the new Preventers task force forming in the background of the new political and economical movements sweeping the nations, shadowing Relena became ineffectual considering she now had half a dozen official bodyguards who might not have been as well-trained as Heero was, but who would protect her with their lives when it came down to it.  
   
Of course, Heero did not figure _that_ out until she sat him down one evening and told him so. They were staying in one of the many hotels Relena was spending her evenings in when she wasn't giving speeches, writing foreign affairs document and UN governing laws from her work office, or going on diplomatic missions.  
   
"I think you've given enough," she told him. Her hands were calm in her lap, not a single twitch in her body that would give away that she was hesitant about this. "You deserve rest from all of this - no, don't interrupt me. I know what you think. But your mission's over. I'm okay. And yes, probably there will be new missions. There are always missions, I know. But first, I need you to take a break."  
   
"I don't take breaks," Heero said coldly.  
   
"You haven't until now. It's time to start," Relena countered, voice firm.  
   
"I don't need anything."  
   
"Except a mission, I know." Relena's eyes turned sad.  
   
Heero hated that he made her look sad so often these days, like she had no idea what to do with him. She'd used to look at him differently, but everything changed. Heero didn't like change very much. He'd fought for the one change that had been his ultimate goal, and now that that was done, he had no idea what to do with himself anymore.  
   
Then, in the blink of an idea, the corners of her lips curled up and even though she still looked a little sad, she also looked mischievous suddenly. "All right. I've thought of a new mission for you," she said, finger up in the air.  
   
Heero nodded. He was ready.  
   
"Go to L4," Relena said. "Quatre called a few days ago and it seems he might need your assistance."  
   
"Quatre?" Heero frowned. He couldn't see how Winner would require protection; he wasn't of the combat caliber that Maxwell or Wufei possessed, but he wasn't defenseless. And Heero couldn't imagine the pacifist boy to have any inclination to attempt anything violence-related. "He's on L4?"  
   
"He's helping to rebuild the colonies with the profits the Winner Foundation made during the war," Relena nodded. "There are also plans for a new colony, but those are still in discussion. He asked if I could recommend someone who could help out with the planning of colony fortification, so that the constructions won't be as vulnerable to attacks from space should another war happen some day."  
   
Heero's frown deepened. "I have no experience in construction."  
   
"But you're a quick study, you instinctively know how to protect someone with minimal expenditure but maximum effect, and Trowa's back on Earth for a while right now, so Quatre's probably lonely and I'm sure he'd love to see an old friend."  
   
Heero opened his mouth to protest the latter.  
   
"Don't even," Relena warned him. "Anyway, it's already settled." She got up off the bed to fetch her laptop. "I'll get you off-earth transport and the required documents for travel, say - in two days? Can you be ready by then?"  
   
"I - yes," Heero said. She wouldn't understand that he was ready now. He carried his tech with him, and didn't have any other possessions that couldn't be discarded of or acquired new quickly.  
   
"Wonderful. That leaves us all of tomorrow to sightsee, since I'm planning to cancel that dreadful dinner with the vice president's wife after all. Vienna is so drafty, and I catch a cold so easily." She sniffled.  
   
Heero tilted his head and didn't say anything to that. He'd learned a while ago that telling Relena she couldn't do something usually ended with her deviating even more ridiculously from her original plans. So he just nodded and decided to go with it.  
   
   
\- - - - -  
   
   
The Winner estate on L4 was similar to any of the other estates Heero had staked out in the past months protecting high-ranking officials from violent deaths - not that _many_ attempts at assassination had been made, but they had prevented a few one man operations and one small-scale plot. It was a huge building, easily able to hold multiple families, which was probably just as well considering Quatre's family. Heero remembered Quatre mentioning over twenty sisters at some point.  
   
He had a duffel bag with his tech and papers, a package Relena had handed him to give to Quatre, another package she'd handed him to give to Quatre from Trowa - Heero had no idea when she'd managed to meet with the Heavyarms pilot, but she tended to have channels and ways Heero hadn't been able to trace yet, which said something about her stealth abilities. He also had a change of clothes and secured firearms, for which Relena had to expressly request transport forms. Travelling armed was a nuisance these days. Heero missed Wing in moments like these.  
   
The entry gate opened when he stepped in sight of the hidden cameras, which he'd located before they'd caught him; a few minutes later, Quatre was coming towards him, looking happy to see him.  
   
"You made it!" he said, and Heero almost expected him to throw open his arms for a hug. But Quatre knew better, of course. He just gave Heero's arm a little pat and said, "Come on, I'll show you your room. Don't let my sisters bother you. I picked a room for you in the wing where they're not - I'm there too, by the way, they drive me crazy, and Trowa likes it quiet when he drops by - so honestly, if they accidentally get lost, don't hesitate to point a gun at them."  
   
Heero's eyebrows went up.  
   
"Sorry, I'm joking. Don't point a gun at them. I forgot how literal you sometimes take things."  
   
"I don't point guns at civilians as a rule, Winner," Heero told him calmly.  
   
Quatre grinned. "It's Quatre. And all right. Relena's got you well-trained, I see."  
   
Heero, at this point much better at reading teasing than he'd been during the war, bit the inside of his cheek and decided not to tell Quatre that he wasn't all that far off the mark. Except not the way he thought, probably.  
   
"How have you been?" Quatre asked. "Not much has been happening on L4 in terms of war development, but then L4 never was at the center of any of the fights, what with being an economic strong-hold and export hotspot. Still, that makes it all the better for structural redevelopments."  
   
He babbled on, telling Heero more about the situation on the other colonies; it was just common news, nothing of interest, and Heero pondered for a moment whether he was bothered by that, and decided that he wasn't. As they walked down the hallways, opening doors and entering new floors, Heero listened with half an ear for important information as he catalogued the layout of the building and all entry and exit ways as a map in his head.  
   
"And then we decided maybe we shouldn't take Duo to that art gallery; I'm not sure how, but I'm sure he could have smuggled out a few of those priceless pre-colony paintings in his pants. So we went to the zoo instead. He liberated a few of the chinchillas. It wasn't fun."  
   
"You saw Maxwell?" Heero blinked.  
   
Quatre gave him another grin. "You weren't listening to a word I said."  
   
"I was listening. I just..."  
   
"I get it, don't worry. New environment, I'm talking too much and none of it mission-relevant. We're here, by the way." Quatre threw open a door and let him step inside.  
   
It was a lovely room, spacious and - Heero went to the window to check - up on the first floor, not too high up to jump out the window if one had to, but high enough to be impossible to climb up to via wall, since there were no holds outside. He would hear any other suspicious noises that would alert him to intruders. The bed was big and looked comfortable.  
   
"You can take the afternoon to get settled, rest a bit," Quatre offered.  
   
Heero stared at him.  
   
"... or not."  
   
"I'm fine," Heero told him.  
   
"The flight -"  
   
"- was fine."  
   
"All right." Quatre looked dubious for a moment, then shrugged. "If you're sure. In that case, we can go downstairs and get some food, and then you can scrounge up detail on the place."  
   
Heero nodded. "You don't want to tag along?"  
   
Quatre smirked. "I know my way around the place."  
   
Heero narrowed his eyes.  
   
"I'd just get in your way," Quatre told him more seriously this time. "Take your time. I can assure you the place is safe, but I get it, your own eyes et cetera. There's quite a bit of security around the estate though, so don't sneak up on any of them, don't catch them by surprise, and don't take down my men, will you? They're good men."  
   
"Hm," Heero said.  
   
"But first, you've probably not eaten yet. So let's go eat."  
   
   
\- - - - -  
   
   
Heero slept surprisingly well that night, considering it was his first night in an admittedly well-secured, but still unfamiliar environment. When the sun rose, he woke, six and a half hours of sleep, more rest than he usually got. Unlike the afternoon before, when the building had been buzzing with movement and voices, inhabited by Winners and staff and project assistants and security, there was an eerie silence lying over the estate now.  
   
He showered quickly, dressed in work-out clothes and headed downstairs. Quatre's room was strategically placed so that anyone exiting the wing had to pass his door, and when Heero slipped by, it opened, revealing Quatre, alert-looking and unsurprised to see Heero.  
   
"I was wondering if you still adhered to your old workout routine," he greeted.  
   
Heero nodded.  
   
"Sounds like a good challenge. If you don't mind, I'll join you. Fair warning, though, I'm terribly out of shape."  
   
It was a surprise, but a welcome one. Heero was used to a solitary workout these days. Normal humans just couldn't keep up, no matter how hard they tried. And since Wufei had left to clear up some of his clan duties, there hadn't been anyone of challenging strength willing to spar regularly.  
   
"But first," Quatre interrupted his thoughts, "my morning tea."  
   
Heero blinked.  
   
"C'mon. Nothing works without my morning tea. Ten minutes."  
   
The time estimate turned out to be true, unlike with Relena, who about once a week asked to join in Heero's work-out. On those days, she impeded his schedule quite a bit because while she was enthusiastic about learning, she was also slow and untrained and she had a terrible habit of saying she needed a minute break that turned into fifteen of her talking on the phone because of an emergency. Quatre used his ten minutes to drink his tea while also stretching and chatting happily about today's plans.  
   
And then they took off.  
   
The run was good. The property behind the estate was wide and almost Earth-like in its architecture, grassy slopes and forests up and down steep hills, little rivers crisscrossing the fields. It was built like an obstacle course, and Heero realized that it _was_ an obstacle course, and one Quatre knew a lot better than Heero did. Additionally, Quatre had always been the pilot with the highest endurance ability of them all, so it was no surprise when he beat Heero out on the final stretch home, over an hour later.  
   
They were panting, immediately dropped into stretches and then from those to a light sparring, hand-to-hand, Heero attacking with precise, slightly uncoordinated movements while Quatre showed off his impeccable technique.  
   
Afterwards, when they were done, Quatre let himself fall into the soft grass, breathing deeply, face shining with sweat and his smile, sun beating down onto them, warming their skin. Heero hesitated only for a moment before he let himself sit down next to him.  
   
It had been a good idea, he realized. Sometimes, it surprised him how much better Relena knew him than he did himself. Not in all things, but in some, especially regarding his needs. He had needs, and even some wants, now and then, but he never indulged them unless he was forced to. Relena pointed that out often enough, always accompanied by that sad look Heero didn't like to see in her eyes.  
   
"I'm glad you're here," Quatre said into the silence, running his hand over his hair, eyes closed against the sun.  
   
Heero stared down at him, and couldn't quite place the blossoming sensation in his chest at the words. He just knew he was glad to be here, too. He didn't have a time-estimate on the project Quatre was planning, and possibly, a fire or emergency on Earth would call him back sooner than later, or maybe Quatre would grow sick of him soon; but he had the sudden hope that he would be able to stay a while longer, maybe, because he didn't think he'd ever been actively glad to be anywhere, and that was probably what Relena had meant with a break.  
   
Quatre was smiling.  
   
Heero watched him, fingers curling in the grass; he swallowed against the tightness in his throat and hoped that meant he was on his way to no longer making people sad.  
   
   
\- - - - -


End file.
